"Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived." - Gen 19:22
The character of Abraham is enhanced when we see the character of Lot his nephew. The brilliant whites of Abraham are enhanced by the shades of grey shown by Lot - and he is a interesting and fascinating study, sometimes overlooked !
He was much loved by Abraham. They left Haran together, and journeyed together in Canaan and went down to Egypt when there was a famine there. When they returned they had so much cattle that the land could not support both their flocks. Here we see the first contrast. Abraham gave Lot his pick of land (Gen 13:8). Instead of returning the favor Lot selfishly chose the "best" and "easy" pickings for himself. "Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. " Gen 13:10,11 He made the easy choice and the generosity of Abraham let him.
This caused Abraham trouble later, because Sodom and Gomorrah were captured by rival kings and Lot with them. Abraham put together his special forces team of 318 men (!) and mounted a rescue mission for his nephew, which brought him honor from the king of Sodom. You would think Lot learned a lesson here... but no ... He stayed in Sodom, and apparently became a man of some importance- maybe from this incident, or for other reasons.
Abraham had cause to worry about Lot again, when the Lord told him what was to befall Sodom and Gomorrah. He did not pray for Lot directly, but asked the Lord to stay judgement if just 10 men were righteous in that city...He hoped that Lot might be among them.
It is now that we see some of Lots goodness showing through. First, he meets the angels of God at the gate of Sodom. Gen 19:1. This was a place of prominence. Second, he immediately extends an offer of hospitality to them and brings them to his house. Later on that evening, when the men of the city are clamoring to "know" these men, he offers up his own daughters instead of them. The men of the city are not pleased... "Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” Gen 19:9. It is now the angels turn to protect him, which they do. The goodness of Lot is remarked upon by Peter - "...He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)" 2 Peter 2:7,8
There being no other righteous found in the city other than Lot and his family, the angels urge them to leave. Even now, Lot is loath to go(!), and the angels have to forcibly drag him out of the city - because - " the compassion of the Lord was upon him." His desire to take the shortcut still makes itself manifest when they tell him to go to the mountains but he begs leave to go to a nearby city! His wish is granted, and Lot and the city are spared because God remembered Abraham!
His end is not good. Finally terrified by the destruction, and the death of his wife, he leaves for the mountains, his daughters commit incest with him, and the resulting offspring are the pagan tribes and line of Moab and Ammon. These are the tribes the Israelites were forbidden to marry ( they ignored it ) , and who ultimately caused Israel's turning away to pagan practices.
Abrahams seed brought a blessing, Lots seed brought a curse to Israel. Yet the compassion and mercy of God towards Lot is a reminder that- "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much!" James 5:16
Lessons from Lot....
1. It is better to walk the difficult road with God, than the easy road without Him!
2. Staying in the company of the ungodly exposes you to the potential of sharing in their judgement. Not just Lot, Rev 18:4 in talking about Babylon says ... "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues." You are responsible for your choices! If it were not for Abraham even righteous Lot would have come to a very sticky end!
3. Your children will be affected by their environment. Lot was a good man, but the conduct of his daughters shows to what extent they had been corrupted by the society in which they were brought up. Guard your kids and watch their choices of friends very carefully...
4. The road to life is very narrow, and it is very easy to miss it! Lots ancestry, his relationship to Abraham, even his own righteousness ultimately fell prey to the flaws in his character, and created a curse as his legacy. Paul warns us in 1 Cor 10:12 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." Be sober, be vigilant, put on the whole armor of God, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, looking only to the author and finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus - who alone is able to keep us from falling, and preserve us till that glorious day!!!! Grow in the knowledge of Him so that the Spirit can guide your decisions and you may abide with confidence in the shadow of His wings!!!!